Read 'em and Weep...

Results are in for the Hempfield Tri for Kids Sake and they confirm what I suspected: I'm a much better runner at this point than triathlete.

Overall, I came in 49th, out of 132.

Among men in my age group, I came in 14th out of 23, which is so-so. If there's anything to feel alright about, it's that while 13th place was just one second faster, I would've had to shave five minutes off my time for 12th place and there was nooooo way that was happening. And for what it's worth, on my own time clock, I did come in five seconds faster, so if it helps me sleep better at night, I could claim 13th place. It won't, though, so I won't.

Split-wise, things were about what I expected: 19/23 on the swim.. can't expect much more with six weeks of swim training, I suppose.

On the bike, I finished 18/23... this is probably the most frustrating to me, as I did a good amount of bike training over the winter. However, there were 3 finishers within 90 seconds of me on the bike, so I wasn't *that* far from a more respectable 15th place. Still - the bike annoys me - strange that I struggle to get fast on it. It should also be noted that the distance of the bike (in proportion to the other events) was the biggest reason for my overall less-than-awesome finish.

And speaking of fast, my run - of course - was the bright spot. I came in 7/23 on the run, within shouting distance of 6th place.

So, what's it all mean? Not too much - this return to athletics ten months ago follows 12 years of doing pretty much nothing, so it's a decent celebration of fitness. And in my first half-marathon last fall, I came in around the same percentile in my age group that I finished the tri. in. And I remember - less than a year ago - thinking that I wouldn't be bummed to do this exact tri in 1:45, and I did it in 1:30.. In all things, perspective is a good thing.

Moving forward, I'm looking at some marathon plans and deciding which to begin soon. Many have a cross-training component, which could mean there's another summer tri. in my future. Or maybe not. Two days after this tri., I'm thinking that 14/23 is a good place to start, but not a great place to finish. And I mean that in a good way - a drive to do better sort of way. :)

Comments

  1. Joy | Love | Chaos10:10 AM

    I think that was a strong finish and you should be pleased. This was a tough race to really gauge your performance on. The swim is a non-traditional distance and the times will be off anyway since it's a lane-to-lane format. The ride is a little more standardized, but then there was that crazy witch telling everyone to SLOW DOWN at the end of it. Slow down! Was she nutz?! Even the run was 3 miles instead of 3.1.

    I say (and you KNOW that my goal is to keep you in triathlon) you do a standard sprint with mat/chip timing and an open water swim. THEN you can really get a feel for your performance.

    Oh, and btw, you might as well bump all your finishing ranks up by one -- that first guy is an elite anyway. Boy was he fast!

    ReplyDelete

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